Part IV: Water and Porcelain
by The Paragon
Summary: WANG YO/HAE SOO: Hae Soo tests the new king's patience. Wang Yo is forced to deal with the aftermath of his actions.


Wang Yo knew something was amiss the moment she stepped foot in the royal throne room that evening.

The contents of the tray she was carrying softly clinked together as she approached him. Her usual precise and methodical movements, which he secretly admired and found calming, were replaced with a shambling gait and an air of distractedness.

He watched silently as Hae Soo prepared to pour his tea.

She aimed the porcelain spout into his cup, swaying slightly on her feet. The hot water bounced off the delicate rim, cascading down the side of the cup into a steaming puddle in the center of the wooden tray.

His arm shot out as he grabbed her wrist in front of him.

Extracting the teapot from her hands, he rose from his seat, his long fingers remained on her wrist to keep her steady. He could feel her trembling in his grasp.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked. He gripped her chin, turning her head from side to side as he examined her face. "Are you ill?"

Her bottom lip quivered, but she kept her eyes downcast.

Lightly, he shook her by the shoulders till her blank eyes met his. "What is it?"

Funny how she could've sworn it was concern that was etched on the face of the heartless monster before her.

"They're gone," she replied weakly.

His brows furrowed. "What?"

"They're gone," she repeated, her voice thick with grief. "You killed them."

For a while, they simply stared at each other - tethered together by a thousand unspoken words in the deafening silence.

When Hae Soo could no longer bear the suffocating void, her face collapsed into a pitiful sob.

"How could you?" she asked him through tears, the pain and accusation in her brown eyes gave him pause.

He said nothing.

Wang Yo stood perfectly still like he were made of stone as she waited for him to respond…daring him to say something, _anything_ to make sense of what he had done.

When he finally opened his mouth to speak, his voice sounded foreign and unsure to his ears. "One cannot be king without a few casualties, little one," he said quietly.

"You didn't have to do it. They _begged_ you, _I begged you_!" Chin trembling, her voice shook with emotion. "Yet you slaughtered them anyway…I saw- I watched you…"

He looked away from her red-rimmed eyes and wet cheeks.

"I watched you shoot arrows into Prince Eun…and you did _nothing_ when your men struck down Lady Soon Deok! How _could_ you?"

She clasped her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, reeling from the horrors she had witnessed the day before.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he said coldly. "Why should their demise warrant your tears?"

Her jaw dropped at his callousness.

Had the circumstances not been so dire, she would have found the confusion spattered on his face hilarious.

"Because I'm nothing like you!" she hissed, her chest heaving as she spoke. "Don't you understand? They were my _friends_ , I would've _died_ to protect them!" Tears poured freely down her face as she continued. "Prince Eun was your brother! He didn't mean you any harm, he _loved_ you…he was never a threat to your crown!"

Her head fell forward as she choked on her sobs. "You didn't have to what you did."

His dark brows knitted together as he hooked his fingers under her chin, titling her head back up. "It had to be done." he told her with terrifying resoluteness.

"But _why_?" she asked, desperation rising in her tone.

"I begged you not to do it- " she said pitifully, her words were strangled through tears. "I would've done anything you asked, if you had only let them live…"

Her melancholy eyes locked onto his. "Someday…" she told him softly, "perhaps not now, but one day…you will deeply regret what you've done."

His hawk-like eyes were unreadable. If he was at all affected by her words, he didn't let it show.

Looking intently into her face, Wang Yo trailed the back of his fingers over her cheek, delicately skimming her jaw. Hae Soo stiffened at the caress.

He raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Are you upset that I killed them…or because I sent your beloved Prince So away to Seokyeong?"

She shot him a look of pure disgust and loathing. "Your voice is smooth as velvet, yet you say the cruelest things." she whispered.

"Wang So never belonged in the palace anyway," he said, his voice deceptively gentle. "This is not a place for wolf dogs."

Wang Yo stepped closer and cradled her face in his large hands. "There's no need to cry over him," he smirked, his words a soft caress against her cheek. "He's a beast, he's not worthy of you..."

Hae Soo squinted at him in disbelief.

"Not worthy!" she cried, choking on mad laughter.

She pried his hands off her face. "Then tell me…who exactly would you deem _worthy_ of me, Your Majesty?" she asked, her voice mocking and furious. "YOURSELF?"

A hard look crept into his narrowing eyes. His mouth thinned out.

The livid look on his face sent ice rushing down her spine and through her veins, she immediately regretted her outburst.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean- "

" _Shhh_ , little one…"

Her mouth dried up as she shuffled backwards. She titled her head back as he towered over her menacingly, slowly crowding her into a corner of the room.

His footsteps dangerous and deliberate in this dance that she wanted no part of.

"So…you think I want you for myself then, do you?" he asked quietly. The crazed look in his eyes terrified her to the core.

Her head painfully whipped against the wall behind her as his arm shot forward without warning, his long fingers wrapping around her throat and pinning her against the hard stone.

Blinding pain and hatred coursed through her body as she struggled in his unyielding hold.

"You forget your station, Lady Soo." he told her tightly, his face white with fury.

Hae Soo frantically clawed at his vice-grip, choking as her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen.

"I AM YOUR KING!" he bellowed. "And you…" he squeezed harder as she dug her nails into his hand. "You're nothing but a _servant_! Lower than the dirt beneath my feet!"

Hot tears trickled down her chin onto the bare skin of his hand.

"Don't you _dare_ presume to know what I think, Lady Soo!" he barked, his face contorted in unrestrained anger mere inches from hers.

"Please…" she wheezed, dark spots clouded her vision as she extended her arm, desperately reaching for his face.

Eyes drooping shut from the lack of air, she felt the smooth warmth of his jaw beneath her fingertips. As if burned by her touch, Wang Yo instantly relinquished his grip on her throat.

Hae Soo collapsed onto the ground, gasping and wide-eyed. She clung to the front of his golden robes for support, coughing violently as she struggled to drag air back into her starved lungs.

"Your insolence won't go unpunished next time," he warned, his breathing harsh as he watched her sputter and gasp at his feet.

She brought her fingers to her neck to rub her bruised throat as she looked up at him through tears.

He stared down at her, his pale face schooled into an expressionless mask.

"Send for someone else," he commanded gruffly. "Clearly you are not fit to serve me today."

She fell forward on her palms as he turned away from her, his robes slipping off her fingers.

By the time he reached his throne, she had already disappeared out the door.

Had she lingered for a moment longer, Hae Soo would have witnessed the new king sweeping the wooden tea-tray off the table… its porcelain contents shattering like shards of confetti on the cold marble around him.

She would have seen him on his throne, staring blankly into space, doubting himself and second-guessing his decision to end Eun's life.

She would have discovered just how much she affected him so.

* * *

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